On Wednesday Nokia and Microsoft held a joint event announcing two new Lumia smartphones that will run the next-gen mobile operating system Windows Phone 8. The new flagship WP8 device is dubbed the Nokia Lumia 920 and its specs are as follows: 4.5-inch (1280 x 768) display, 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB RAM, 32GB memory, back-facing 8.7 megapixel camera with optical image stabilization, Carl Zeiss optics, LED flash, and 1080p video recording capability, front-facing camera, integrated 2000mAh battery with wireless charging support. All of this is housed inside a polycarbonate shell that comes in a variety of colors including black, grey, red, yellow, and white. Nokia is touting the phone’s “PureMotion HD+” display as the company’s “brightest, fastest and most sensitive touchscreen (the screen will accept input even if the user is wearing protective gloves);” the “PureView” back-facing camera that uses “advanced floating lens technology” that promises to capture clearer and brighter pictures even in low light situations; and the phone’s wireless charging functionality based on the Qi wireless standard. Place your phone down on a charging surface and it will automagically begin to regain battery life. Nokia will release its own wireless charing platforms and the company is also working with third parties such as Fatboy to sell portable wireless charging pillows. To kickstart the initiative, Nokia has partnered with The Coffee Bean and Virgin Atlantic to install wireless charing stations in countertops and airport lounges.
Also announced at the event is the mid-range alternative Nokia Lumia 820. It sports a smaller 4.3-inch (800 x 480) ClearBlack OLED display, only 8GB of storage (but there’s microSD expandability up to 32GB), a non-PureView 8 megapixel back-facing camera with Carl Zeiss optics and LED flash, and a smaller 1650mAh battery. It packs the same 1.5GHz dual-core processor as it’s bigger sibling, a VGA front-facing camera, and there is support for wireless charging. Users will have the ability to swap out their polycarbonate back cover for a wireless charging-capable one. The Lumia 820 comes in an even great variety of bright colors like red, yellow, grey, cyan, purple, white, and black.
Nokia has not specified pricing and release date information for either device. LTE and HSPA+ variants of the 920 and 820 “are expected to start shipping in select markets later in the year,” says the company’s press release. What you’re left with now are photos of the sleek phones in the galleries below (the 920 above, the 820 below), plus two intro videos and official PR after the break.
[Via Microsoft; Engadget 1, 2]
Nokia Lumia 920 Captures Best Pictures and Video Ever Seen on a Smartphone
Espoo, Finland and New York, NY – Nokia today announced the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Nokia Lumia 820, the first devices in Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 range.
The Nokia Lumia 920 is the flagship Windows Phone 8 smartphone, including the latest advances in Nokia PureView imaging innovation. Using advanced floating lens technology, the camera in the Nokia Lumia 920 is able to take in five times more light than competing smartphones without using flash, making it possible to capture clear, bright pictures and video indoors and at night. It also compensates for hand movement while the photo is being taken.
“Nokia PureView continues to deliver cutting-edge technology to make it possible for a smartphone camera to take the kind of images usually only seen on a standalone SLR camera,” said Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia Smart Devices. “With the Nokia Lumia 920 we have made it possible to shoot pictures and video at home, outdoors, in a restaurant or even at night, and come out with professional-looking results.”
“We view imaging as a core area for differentiation in the smartphone space,” said Crawford Del Prete, Executive VP WW Products and Chief Research Officer, IDC. “Low light photography has been a weak point for smartphones. Nokia has addressed this with PureView to create real customer value. By applying its rich expertise in imaging Nokia has created a best of breed experience for everyday use.”
The Nokia Lumia 920 also comes with Nokia City Lens, the latest addition to the Nokia location suite. By pointing the camera at a city street, City Lens overlays information about restaurants, shops, hotels and more on the surfaces of buildings, for the most intuitive way to explore surroundings. Nokia City Lens is the start of a new augmented reality experience that also enhances Nokia Maps, making it possible to move between maps view and augmented reality view to help people check their direction and surroundings. Along with enhancements to Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport, the Nokia location suite of services represents the most comprehensive, integrated mapping experience of any smartphone.
The Nokia Lumia 920 also comes with Nokia’s largest ever battery (2000mAh) and, for the first time, built-in wireless charging for an easy, convenient way to get more out of every day.
New Nokia Lumia Range Delivers Latest PureView Camera Innovation, New Navigation Experiences and Wireless Charging on Windows Phone 8
Espoo, Finland and New York, NY – Nokia today announced the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Nokia Lumia 820, the first devices in Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 range.
The Nokia Lumia 820
The Nokia Lumia 820 is a stylish, mid-range smartphone that delivers high-end performance in a compact package.
While the Nokia Lumia 820 has the same unibody look and feel as the high end Lumia smartphones, it comes with an exchangeable shell design. Exchangeable shells not only make it possible to select from a range of colors, but also to add wireless charging. Beneath the shell is room to insert a micro SD memory card.
Powered by Windows Phone 8
Windows Phone 8 provides a more personal smartphone experience, with a start screen that can be more easily rearranged to reflect individual priorities and new animated Live Tiles for real-time updates on the things that matter most. The ability to sync content between Windows Phone 8 smartphones, Windows 8-based PCs and tablets or Xbox means files, music, pictures and video can be accessed in whichever way is most convenient. With Internet Explorer 10 for faster, safer browsing and Microsoft Office apps built into the platform, Windows Phone 8 is also the easiest way for getting things done.
Wireless charging partners
Nokia also announced a range of wireless charging accessories and partnerships. The Fatboy Recharge Pillow provides a fun way to recharge, while JBL introduced the JBL PowerUP, a wireless charging docking station with high quality audio in retro styling.
Deals with Virgin Atlantic to put wireless charging stations in the London Heathrow Clubhouse lounge and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to put charging plates on tables in some of their cafés, were the first of many deals Nokia intends to sign to take wireless charging outside the home and office.
Availability
The Nokia Lumia 920 comes in yellow, red, grey, white and black. The Nokia Lumia 820 comes in red, yellow, grey, cyan, purple, white and black.
Both phones will be available in pentaband LTE and HSPA+ variants and are expected to start shipping in select markets later in the year. Nokia will announce pricing and specific roll-out dates country by country when sales are due to begin.